Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Steel-Cut Oatmeal

I eat oatmeal almost everyday for breakfast. I love how hearty, chewy, warm, and satisfying a big bowl of oatmeal mixed with fruit and berries is in the morning. Oatmeal is also very versatile! Add any of your favorite spices, fruit, nuts, or whatever you'd like to customize your oats.

Lately I've been experimenting with using dry instant sugar-free, fat-free pudding mix in oatmeal (and protein shakes, but that's another story!) and I love how the pudding adds richness, extra creaminess, and delicious flavor to the oats.

I had a ripe nectarine so this morning I came up with a new oatmeal combination! Nectarines are somewhat similar to peaches so I decided to pair it with sliced strawberries, which I also need to finish eating before they spoil! I like ginger with both peaches and strawberries so I added just a pinch over the fruit. I chose white chocolate pudding since the flavor is mild. Almonds are good with everything so of course a small handful made it on top of the oats! Everything was mixed up and microwaved for a few minutes and thus... White Chocolate Nectarine Strawberry Ginger Almond Oatmeal was born -- and happily consumed!

I begin with pre-cooked steel-cut oats. I typically make enough for three days or so (1/2 cup of Bob's Red Mill steel-cut oats plus 2 cups of water, simmered for 20-30 minutes), split into portions, and kept in the fridge.

Add a portion of pre-cooked oats to a microwave-safe bowl. The oats stick together like a little brick once cooled!

Break up the mass of oats with a spoon before adding milk.

Add just enough milk to coat the oats.

Stir the milk and oats until the consistency is something like this!

Add seasonings. In my bowl is a spoonful of dry white chocolate pudding, a dash of vanilla, and a pinch of ground ginger.

Add any finely diced fruit you'd like to soften while cooked in the microwave. I used about half my fruit in the oatmeal and saved the other half to put on top. The combination of warm, soft fruit and cool, fresh fruit is wonderful!

Microwave the oats in 1-minute increments, stirring between each. It should be warm enough to eat after about 3 minutes. Pudding can make the oatmeal boil over easily so be sure to stir after each minute!

Once the oats are warm, top with additional fruit.

I added a small handful of sliced almonds and another small pinch of ginger to the top!